Computer Use in the Construction Industry
Technological advances are benefiting the construction business in many different ways. On-line services, estimating software, and blueprint design (CAD) are just some of the areas that have enhanced the building world. Commercial and residential contractors are suddenly seeing how computer technology can benefit their business and are now utilizing it more and more everyday.
For the past thirty to forty years, construction, technologies, and practices had hardly changed. From the drawing boards to finished product, building science stayed very conventional and for the most part simple. According to Building Performance Construction Services, “Builders are adverse to change.”1 They had a system and it worked, so why change it? Statistically proven, over the past couple of years there has been a significant increase in competition and customer demand. Thus, forcing companies to use advanced building materials, techniques, and technology to keep up to date in the competitive world.
Computer programs like estimating software, Computer Aided Drafting (CAD), Excel, and Access are all designed to draw, compute, and keep track of information for you. Estimating software uses pre-programmed data to come up with price figures; they are virtually error free and can be done fast, in a fraction of the time it would take to complete a task in longhand. Computer Aided Drafting, or (CAD), can draw plans that are exactly to scale and viewable in 3D from every angle imaginable. This allows new modern design techniques and style to become possible and put to use. Excel and Access create spreadsheets and compute equations to organize and categorize necessary material. Excel can perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, as well as many other functions automatically which can then be applied to a document on the computer, saving a lot of time and paperwork. It is obvious that programs like these make the managerial side of construction much faster and easier.
Using advanced equipment is another way computers have revolutionized the building industry. Electronic tools are constantly improving with the use of lasers, digital equipment and battery-power. Lasers for cutting or leveling purposes enable projects to be more precise and accurate. Digital equipment can save needed data on the jobsite to a card/disk, which can then be downloaded and accessed from a computer system. Advances in battery technology can now power many tools changing the way the construction process is approached.
In part VI of Ronald Munson’s Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Bioethics, five main ethical theories are explored. The theories and their “truths,” along with their difficulties, will be challenged in accepting them as absolutes. An absolute is an immutable, universal truth about reality; but none of these theories as a whole hold up to be an absolute. They remain ethical theories, not ethical facts. (Absolutes, commandments, guidelines, inferences, and convictions)
However, the success of the building schemes relied on the construction methods and innovations that are now attributed as bei...
In order to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement in an efficient and amicable fashion, this book introduces us the strategy of breakthrough negotiation. The breakthrough strategy is counterintuitive: it requires us to do the opposite of what we might naturally do in difficult situations. In addition, the essence of the breakthrough strategy is indirect action. Rather than trying to break down opponent's resistance, we
Hamlet is a suspenseful play that introduces the topic of tragedy. Throughout the play, Hamlet displays anger, uncertainty, and obsession with death. Although Hamlet is unaware of it, these emotions cause the mishaps that occur throughout the play. These emotions combined with his unawareness are the leading basis for the tragic hero’s flaws. These flaws lead Hamlet not to be a bad man, but a regular form of imperfection that comes along with being human.
Adopting the latest technology helps firms to gain advantage in the competitive environment. It is important to adopt new tools in order to improve the quality of work and reduce the risks associated with the work. Implementation of a new process or a tool is often cumbersome for the companies but with proper planning and resources in hand and the zeal to accept innovation, companies grow technically and technologically. In the AEC field, we saw many firms still hand drafting 20 or more years after CAD became the new drafting standard in the mid-1980s. The pressure to switch often came from colleagues and collaborators and became necessary as firms using CAD no longer found it viable to work with firms still hand-drafting (Epstein, 2012). Similar is the case today where the incorporation of BIM is becoming popular amongst the organizations. In order to stay afloat, companies must implement the use of BIM.
LEED is building the future of our construction field and it is growing rapidly. Green building through LEED is bringing about lifetime of returns that start with lessening operation costs, reducing energy, and decreasing water bills as much as forty percent. Businesses across the world are using LEED to increase the efficiency of their buildings as well as freeing up resources that can be used elsewhere to create new jobs, expand building operations, and investing in up and coming technologies. Green building technologies are drastically shaping how buildings are constructed making them more stimulating to look at as well increasing the retail values of many homes. LEED certified projects is the construction of tomorrow and will be for many more years to come.
An example of integrative bargaining is trying to decide how to split an orange between two students. One students wants the peel the orange to make preserve and the other student would like to make orange juice. In this situation, I think both of the students can benefit without losing out.
Negotiation is a process of discussion aimed at conflict resolution in which two or more parties attempt to resolve the conflict (incompatible goals) in a process that is mutually agreeable. Though the concept seems easy to understand, it is difficult to implement in practical scenarios. There are various hurdles in negotiation process such as differing views on what is right and wrong, what is fair and just, differences among parties in expressing themselves, understanding each other’s communication and ultimately the procedure in which negotiations are conducted. In addition to these factors, negotiations are further complicated whenever people from different cultural backgrounds are involved.
further head trauma. Rules should be changed to reduce head traumas, but should only be
When starting construction on a new building, there are plenty of things that can and will go wrong. You will start to lay out the plumbing and find that it clashes with a wall or beam that cannot be moved. To finish your project, you must take more time and more money to adjust to the new layout. Another scenario is the owners won’t let you start construction because they can’t see the end result or where the specific design implements that had asked for are located. For the past few decades the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry has been looking for a solution to this problem. Projects would be set back due to design oversights. Without anything to predict these problems before they happen, these little setbacks were a common occurrence. Once building information modeling (BIM) was born, it was like their prayers had been answered. The future was here.
In my opinion, negotiating is not about who win the situation. People think it will be an achievement to win and have the other party to lose. Some people think negotiation is to achieve your demands, persuading the other party to agree with you, take the deal and go home. However, it only endangers the thought that you could have asked for more and gotten it. So you are not really satisfied by it.
The second way is by using computer aided drafting (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) programs on your computer.
to do it with. Internet and communications, digital video and audio composition, and desktop publishing are all features that are only offered on computers. With these tools human society has progressed exponentially.
A recent study conducted by Building Futures in association with RIBA surveyed the various demographics of the construction industry to establish their thoughts and opinions in regards to the state of architectural profession today, and in the future. The document identifies the concern that conventional building design is shifting from the architects to the various sub-contractors for a multitude of reasons [Jamieson, 2010: 12]. The most obvious being the increased complexity and required specialisation of the building elements, which will further require a specific workforce utilising other educational qualifications. It is ironic that under this opinion architects have reverted back to their initial scope-depth state, having expertise in all but specialising in none. One could contribute this back to Vitruvius, who prescribed an architect to have an expansive knowledge including philosophy, arithmetic and geometry amongst others skills, effectively indicating that an architect should be a jack of all trades and a master of none. Thus an argument could be presented that it is the very nature of our education system, the one that forces us to immerse ourselves superficially in all aspects of the project, that makes us suitable to evolve from a design profession to a managerial role, The issue then
Digital fabrication is coming into the construction industry to create precisely crafted and complex buildings in response to the new competitive environment and construction market demands. Thanks to advanced technology, the good revolution can be seen in most industrial activities. Almost all of the industry sectors are trying to keep themselves up to date with new related innovation to boost their sustainable growth. However, unfortunately architects and construction engineers have been more conservative despite all of the massive global investment in the construction sector. This conservative trend was started many years after great prosperity and success in the other industries. As an example, in comparison with the more developed automotive industry, the construction industry has been weighing the pros and cons of doing automation, and it is still under development. Despite some limitations and lack of information over the 80’s and even 90’s, but the current status indicates good progress. Today, most of architectural design is no longer possible without computer technologies. The models have become more complex and require advanced tools to understand design codes and implement fabrication processes. It can be said, that the advanced automated tools with a user-friendly programming system can bring incredible solutions for architects and construction engineers. Many researchers have made significant studies to consider all possibilities and limitations of digital design-construction in various types of procedures.